East Village Radio is Shutting Down After 11 Years

The East Village is having a rough month: following shortly after the news that crate-digging institution Kim's Video & Music will be closing, East Village Radio, the 11-year old live Internet radio station that broadcasts out of a glass-windowed storefront on First Avenue, has announced that it is shutting down May 23. According to EV Grieve, who first reported the story, "popularity hasn't been an issue with East Village Radio, who counted more than 1 million listeners worldwide...however, under the Congressional Digital Music Copyright Act of 1998, Internet broadcasters must pay a digital performance royalty for every listener. "Every time we get a new listener, it costs us more money with licensing fees and Internet costs," East Village Radio CEO Frank Prisinzano told EV Grieve. "After doing some projections, we see that it is going to be very, very difficult for us to continue to break even." The FADER had a long-running show on East Village Radio called "The Let Out," the archives for which you can listen to here. R.I.P.